Fiberglass advice

[fogged306 0]

This has nothing to do with audio, so if this is in the wrong section, I apologize and feel free to move it.

 

The package tray for my hatch was broken when I bought the car. Looks like someone put something too heavy on it and cracked the structure inside. Can I lay chop mat down on top of the carpet and resin it or will the resin not adhere to the carpet? I'm just looking to do the underside of this to make it rigid enough to hold it's shape again when it's in the car. I've heard you should lay rope or something similar to give the mat a corrugated look for linear strength. Here's a picture of the underside of the tray where I'd like to strengthen it. The carpet is hook and not straight cut if that makes any difference.

 

[ssh 924]

I will say that if you do end up glassing over it, you should drill holes throughout the tray before applying resin and fiberglass. The holes will help give something for the resin and cloth to adhere to.

 

At least that's what I've done in the past, and it worked, but I never did something that large.

Edited June 1, 2013 by stefanhinote

[fogged306 0]

I want to leave the top part factory, so I don't want holes in it. I basically want to do a stealth fix where you wouldn't know it was done unless you lifted up the tray and looked underneath.

 

I get what you're saying though and it makes sense. I guess worst case would be to drill the holes and then re-carpet the top. I'm trying to get my feet wet in fiberglassing and I think this would make for a nice first project to experiment on, otherwise I wouldn't waste my time on this thing. Appreciate the insight though,

[The enD 467]

How big is that crack in reality? Personally I wouldn't waste my time with fiberglass. Just put a piece of scrap wood underneath. Then use somewhat stealthy bolts at each corner and some washer so it does not dig into the wood.

 

 

With fiberglass it is going to be more time consuming, more money on brushes and containers. And it won't be that strong as a thin piece of wood. And if you are not careful it may soak up into the carpet and you will have to re-upholster it.

[Quentin Jarrell 671]

As you said, I wouldn't waste my time on it but...

Resin will adhear to the carpet but wouldn't accept mat correctly. So...the easiest way would be to remove the carpet undernieth.

Now, resin will not bind to plastic. So what you would want to do is use the panel as a mold. Wrap the entire bottom with blue painters tape then apply mat/cloth and resin to build up a laminant.

Once this is complete use corvette body panel adhesive to permanently adhere the laminant to the panel.

[The enD 467]

I'm pretty sure that panel is made out of particle board and not plastic.

[ssh 924]

I'm pretty sure that panel is made out of particle board and not plastic.

Yeah I think so too. Your idea of wood paneling underneath sounds way better than fiberglassing.

[fogged306 0]

Yep, this doesn't sound like a good project to learn on. I definitely appreciate the replies. I'm glad I asked before I went and ordered everything and tried it out first.

[fogged306 0]

I'm curious as to why you said corvette body panel adhesive. Is that different than regular panel bond? I know corvettes are all glass so I'm assuming it's specially formulated for bonding glass, but just curious nonetheless. Mainly because I have panel bond at the shop already.

[fogged306 0]

How big is that crack in reality? Personally I wouldn't waste my time with fiberglass. Just put a piece of scrap wood underneath. Then use somewhat stealthy bolts at each corner and some washer so it does not dig into the wood.

 

 

With fiberglass it is going to be more time consuming, more money on brushes and containers. And it won't be that strong as a thin piece of wood. And if you are not careful it may soak up into the carpet and you will have to re-upholster it.

 

Thanks for posting that picture. I didn't know there were carriage style bolts like that. Those will definitely come in handy.

 

I'm pretty sure that panel is made out of particle board and not plastic.

 

Yea It's particle board underneath... Does mat and resin adhere to particle board better than plastic?

[The enD 467]

Yes, it gets between the cracks and bonds better than to the somewhat smooth surface of plastic.